1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of sunshades used in conjunction with child safety seats in vehicles and in particular to a collapsible sunshade that forms an enclosure around the child safety seat.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Baby strollers, cribs, car seats, and other like devices (collectively, “child seats”) are often used in areas subject to sunlight. It is important that a child be protected from the sunlight and not exposed to harmful UV rays. Additionally, a child exposed to sunlight may become over-heated which is uncomfortable and may be dangerous in extreme conditions.
Several previous child seat devices have included retractable canopies and other more intricate mechanisms that have a variety of moving parts. These moving parts and intricate mechanisms are difficult to protect, or make “child-proof” because they must interrelate or mesh together to effectively operative. Making them safe for a child often requires the device be effectively disabled thereby taking away their utility. These mechanisms also add a large amount of bulk to the seat adding weight that makes them more difficult to carry and requiring more storage space when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,770, issued Nov. 26, 1991 to Hassell, Jr., describes a sun shield for a child's car seat. The sun shield consists of a single flat piece of pre-cut firm bendable material that has a roof segment, a pair of side visor segments, a pair of support flap segments and a back segment, with a cut out gap area between each support flap segment and the back segment. The sun shield also comprises a plurality of machine-made fold lines, each located between all the segments and adhesive for securing the support flap segments to the rear surface of the back segment when the bendable material is folded up along all the fold lines to form said sun shield. The back segment can be adjustably placed between the backrest of the car seat and a seat back of a rear seat of an automobile with the roof segment extending over the head of the child to protect the head from rays of the sun entering through the windows of the automobile. The sun shield will not obstruct the rear view mirror for the driver of the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,558, issued Nov. 2, 1999 to Sittu, indicates an adjustable shade that is used in combination with a stroller, which carries a child occupant. The stroller has an integral canopy, and the adjustable shade includes a top cover that is configured to attach to the integral canopy. A front curtain is coupled to the top cover and extends downward from a front edge of the top cover. First and second side curtains are coupled to the top cover and extend downward from first and second lateral edges of the top cover. Adjustable shade adjusts to a plurality of positions to effectively protect the child occupant from lateral and reflected rays of sunlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,004, issued Oct. 2, 2001 to Gordon, shows a sun shield capable of protecting persons or plants against the harmful effects of incident radiation. The sun shield is formed from a substantially transparent flexible material which at least substantially absorbs and/or reflects incident radiation in the ultraviolet and infrared frequency ranges and which may be repeatedly folded without becoming damaged. The supple, flexible and durable transparent material may be mounted on a framework to be attached to, for example, a child's car seat or push-chair or to serve as a parasol or canopy, or to protect plants from excessive ultraviolet or infrared radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. D289,473, issued Apr. 28, 1987 to Myers, shows the ornamental design for a sun visor for child's car seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,339,527, issued May 11, 1920 to Sperling, indicates a collapsible screen for a baby carriage. The device is made from a metallic screen that allows it to hold its shape or collapse as needed. The screen may be folded, rolled up and placed in any convenient storage area, or carried in the baby carriage as desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,779, issued Apr. 22, 1986 to Myers, claims a sunshade for an infant's car seat that has a flexible, sheet-like canopy, which is generally horizontal in use. The canopy has a pocket formed at a first end for fitting over the top of the back of an infant's car seat. There is a flexible tension link at a second end of the canopy for stretchably anchoring the canopy to a part of the car's interior that is spaced-apart from the infant's car seat. There may be a pair of side flaps extending along opposite sides of the canopy between the ends thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. D426,091, issued Jun. 6, 2000 to White, claims the ornamental design for an infant car seat sun cover.
U.S. Pat. No. D375,423, issued Nov. 12, 1996 to Lapointe, puts forth the ornamental design for a car seat visor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,914, issued Sep. 10, 1996 to Holladay, concerns a toddler car seat shade that comprises an inverted U-shaped frame member, which has downwardly extending vertical legs and an arcuate upper extent. The vertical legs each have a plurality of positioning apertures therethrough and a coupling aperture at the upper extent of each leg. An elongated inverted C-shaped frame member is provided with apertures at its free internal ends. Pivot pins are positionable through the apertures of the elongated inverted C-shaped frame member and the coupling apertures of the inverted U-shaped frame member to effect the pivotal coupling therebetween. A plurality of intermediate C-shaped frame members of varying sizes with apertures at their free ends are secured to the pivot pins. A cloth is positionable over the inverted U-shaped frame member and the elongated C-shaped frame members with a hem in the cloth secured to the U-shaped frame member and the elongated C-shaped frame member.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,319, issued Jul. 23, 1996 to DiMurro, is for a sunshade for an infant car seat that has a generally U-shaped frame covered by a canopy. The frame extends horizontally forward over the car seat and is removably connected to the rear of the car seat by an attaching portion. The attaching portion rests upon a top edge of the car seat backrest and inter-fits with a ledge at the rear of the backrest to secure the frame to the car seat in a cantilever fashion. The canopy has a top and at least one side curtain extending downward from a lateral side of the top. In this configuration, the canopy cover serves to completely shield the infant occupant of the car seat from direct rays of sunlight. Optionally, the canopy has an envelope that receives the U-shaped frame structure, and is removable from the frame. An optional second envelope at the rear of the canopy is used to further secure the canopy to the frame and hold the canopy taut.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,999, issued Apr. 12, 1994 to Thompson, shows a lightweight storable sunshade for a child's car seat. The mounting bracket for the sunshade is rigidly mounted to the side of a child's car seat. An angle bracket has a first flange rotatably engaged with the mounting bracket and has a second flange that extends at approximately 90 degrees to the first flange. A first arm is rotatably mounted to the mounting bracket second flange. A second arm is rotatably mounted to the first arm and a third arm is rotatably mounted to the second arm, thus forming an extended linkage that supports a lightweight sunshield above and to one side of the car seat to shield a child from the rays of the sun. The sunshield is constructed of a tubular support frame that is constrained within a fire resistant cloth cover. The tubular support frame is elastically constrained within a pocket formed by the two sides of the cover. The cover may have pictures printed thereon to entertain the child being shielded from the sun's rays. The ends of the tubular support pass through holes in opposed sides of a shade support bracket. The support bracket is rotatably linked to the uppermost arm in the extended linkage of the sunshade assembly. The elements of the assembly are connected at rotatable joints that may be clamped by adjustment of hand nuts to fix the sun shield in a desired position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,308, issued Apr. 27, 1993 to Kendall, claims an apparatus for protecting an infant in a forwardly facing infant's seat in a vehicle from direct exposure to sun rays. The apparatus comprises a generally horizontally forwardly extending frame having multiple sections, with pivot structure connecting adjacent sections, so that the sections extend above the infant's seat. The device also has a foldable canopy carried by the frame to extend protectively above the seat, and to be folded as the frame sections are relatively pivoted; and support structure connected with the frame and extending generally downwardly to in turn be supported rearwardly of the infant's seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,674, issued Apr. 16, 1991 to Franc, discloses an apparatus adapted for use in conjunction with an infant car seat or similar device. The apparatus is designed to provide a sunshade for an infant, the novel apparatus being of soft and flexible construction and being self-supporting and free of rigid structural components. U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,883, issued Aug. 14, 1990 to Mayo, indicates an infant sunshade apparatus that is formed with a malleable memory retentive elongate channel formed with a planar upper and lower surface. The upper surface of the channel includes a series of hook and loop fasteners securable to a head liner surface of an associated automobile. A plurality of vertically oriented transparent shades utilizing photochromic material to accommodate various intensity of sunlight are formed with axles extending upwardly and parallel to the shades and extending through the channel to accommodate deformation of the channel. Each lowermost edge of the channel is formed with a continuous conduit receiving a single continuous rope-like member therethrough to impose structural and geometric integrity to the shades. The rope-like member is formed with a loop at each end thereof for securement of a clip and tether line thereto for maintaining a desired orientation of the apparatus relative to an infant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,249, issued May 8, 1990 to Mattox, puts forth a portable, foldable sunshade for use in protecting a person from exposure to the sun. The sun shielding side supports retain the sunshade above the head of a person who is seated in a chair. The side supports, positioned between the person and the side of the chair, are adjustable for shielding the person from oblique rays of the sun.
U.S. Pat. No. D339,258, issued Sep. 14, 1993 to Langenberg, concerns the ornamental design for a sunshade for an infant's car seat
U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,433, issued Nov. 15, 1988 to Purnell-Ayres, illustrates an infant-protecting sunshade for use in a land vehicle such as an automobile with an infant car set or a stroller. The sunshade is a unitary member stamped in the shape of a flat mushroom from flat sheet rubber and bent at fold lines to form a hood. The hood has a back that is insertable for support behind an infant car seat, a forwardly foldable top, and first and second downward sides, foldable up and securable by hook and loop fastening over the top when not in use. Being flexible, either or both sides can, in tight quarters, be rolled up to pass an obstruction such as the inside wall of an automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,906, issued Mar. 29, 1988 to Davis, provides a sunshade for infants, which is affixable to essentially all styles of car seats. The sunshade has a generally rectangular fabric shade that is supported by a generally U-shaped support bar made from a stiff, but bendable material. An elastic cord is affixed to the back and to a portion of each of the side edges and the shade is held in a generally horizontal position by the action of the support bar, the elastic cord and the fabric shade, itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,162, issued Oct. 6, 1981 to Pap, describes a sunshade for an infant seat. The sunshade includes a canopy that is adjustable vertically, horizontally and angularly with respect to the associated seat. The canopy has an adjustable arm-and-leg member, one end of the arm member being connected to the canopy frame structure by means of a universal socket bracket, and the opposite end thereof being adjustably attached to the leg member. The leg member is slidably adjustable within a support bracket attached to the seat, whereby the infant positioned within the seat can be shaded, whether the seat is placed in a seating position or in a lying position.
What is needed is a collapsible sun shelter which is easy to assemble and remove and inexpensive to manufacture and which permits easy access to the child in the seat with the sunshade shelter in place.